BLUE-FLOWEHED HXDRANGEAS. 227 



Tlie plant spreads around, making a carpet of it, and its numerous rich 

 bine flowers, with tlieir dark velvet large spots, produce an admirable 

 eflect. Good plants, gradually inured previously, turned out at the 

 end of May, will realize eveiy expectation. It is readily propao-ated, 

 and very easy of culture; a sandy loam and peat soil, with a free 

 drainage when in pots, suits it well. A succession of j^oung plants 

 should be occa^^ionally provided in summer, as casualties, by watering, 

 sometimes occur, and they suddenly die off. Keep the stem from 

 being in a hollow, as stagnant water retained there is injurious. 



New Hardy Plants from China. 



Mr. Fortune has discovered and introduced two most valuable Koses. 

 Of them he says : — 



" The gardens of the Mandarins, although small, were extremely 

 gay, particularly during the early months of the year; and what was 

 of more importance to me, contained a number of new plants of great 

 beauty and interest. On entering one of the gardens, on a fine morn- 

 ing in May, I was struck with a mass of yellow flowers wiiich com- 

 pletely covered a distant part of the wall ; the colour was not a conmion 

 yellow, but had something of buff in it, which gave the flowers a 

 striking and uncommon appearance. I immediately ran up to the 

 place, and, to my surprise and delight, found I had discovered a most 

 beautiful new yellow climbing Rose. I have no doubt, from what I 

 afterwai-ds learned, that this Rose is from the more northern districts of 

 the Chinese empire, and will prove perfectly hardy in Europe. 



" Another Rose, which the Chinese call the Five-coloured, was 

 found in one of these gardens at this time ; it belono-s to the section 

 commonly called China Roses in this country, but sports in a very 

 beautiful and 'strange manner. Sometimes it produces self-coloured 

 blooms, being either red or Frencli white, and frequently havino- flowers 

 of both on one plant at the same time ; while at other times the flowers 

 are striped with the colours already mentioned. This will also be as 

 hardy as our common China Rose." 



He further mentions that he discovered a white variety of the beau- 

 tiful Glycine Sinensis, which, if equally hardy with the blue one 

 already introduced, will make a valuable addition to our climbers. 



BLUE-FLOWERED HYDRANGEAS. 



BY W. A., AN AMATEUR, ST. JOHN'S WOOD, LONDON. 



I HAVE been a subscriber to your very useful Magazine from the com- 

 mencement to the present time, and have read therein many different 

 niethods_ described in order to produce blue-flowered Hydrangeas. 

 Some of them are very complicated ; but being anxious to succeed, I 

 tried nearly every one, but did not accomplish "my olijcct in a sinole 

 instance. ' ° 



Tiie present summer I watered several young plants (some before 

 the flower buds ojieiied, and others when in bloom) with a very strou"- 

 liquid manure, made solely of cow-dung, being steeped in Mater for a 



